The present invention relates to a frequency modulation (FM) demodulator and, more particularly, to a pulse count type FM demodulator.
A pulse count type demodulator of the prior art, as will be described in more detail later, usually consists of a limiter circuit, a monostable multivibrator and a low-pass filter (LPF). The monostable multivibrator generates a pulse having a fixed time width in response to a transition point, for instance the leading edge point, of the limiter circuit's output. The LPF integrates the output of the monostable multivibrator to supply a demodulated output. Since the width from the trailing edge of the monostable multivibrator's output to its next leading edge is proportional to the frequency of the input signal, the output voltage of the LPF is proportional to the frequency of the input signal, so that FM demodulation is achieved.
In the above described pulse count type demodulator of the prior art, the lower limit of the frequency band of demodulated signals is zero Hz (D.C.), and linearity is maintained over a wide band ranging from zero to the upper limit eetermined by the output pulse width of the monostable multivibrator. Though having such a wide frequency band, the prior art demodulator is poor in demodulation sensitivity. For this reason, where an FM signal whose maximum frequency deviation is extremely small relative to the center frequency, i.e., an FM signal whose normalized bandwidth is narrow, is to be demodulated, a demodulated signal is vulnerable to the adverse effect of external noise, such as source voltage fluctuation.